Critics of Rob Ford, Toronto's laughable bumblefuck of a mayor, will tell you that at least he's good at teaching high-school football (maybe the only thing he truly enjoys). So it's newsworthy that the schools for which he coaches are considering firing him, and he won't show up to meetings to discuss his misconduct.

The school board is examining a Sun interview in which Ford made disparaging comments about the school community that have been called inaccurate by the board, parent council members, teachers and even one of Ford’s assistant coaches. The mayor asserted that Don Bosco players come from “broken homes” and would be dead or in jail if not for football.

Some parents have called for Ford’s removal.

“We haven’t made any decision whatsoever,” board spokesman John Yan said Thursday. “We’re trying to meet with the mayor, because we have to have an opportunity as part of the process to discuss his comments.

“Part of that process is for Mr. Ford to provide us with either with an explanation or a commentary on what transpired on the March 1 interview.

I have to think that he’s a real-life embodiment of Ron Swanson, except that Ron Swanson is allowed to just sit around doing nothing because he’s on TV. Mayor Ford has no such luxury, so his shirking of governmental activities has to be a little more…visible.

I’d say the parents are likely a little more pissed being told their kids would be dead or in jail if not for Ford…
His drinking is a factor certainly, but this process has been going on since before the Sarah Thompson incident and the Garrison Ball incident…

What is more remarkable is despite the continual clusterfuck that is his professional life he somehow keeps on going and getting away with nearly everything that would result in most people getting hung drawn and quartered.

He’s stupid and he’s an alcoholic. Representing those demographics means that you’re tough to beat in a lot of Canadian jurisdictions. Mike Harris and Ralph Klein, the old premiers of Ontario and Alberta spring to mind as examples. Harris was particularly teflon coated. Even having the ex of his gal-pal (the one he met in rehab) spontaneously combust didn’t hurt him.

I don’t think blaming his behavior on alcoholism is right. He clearly has some sort of personality disorder. He does not see, or does not care, that his behavior is off the charts.

Why he keeps getting elected….now THAT is on his constituents. What’s their excuse? Are people really so fixated on certain right wing catch phrases that nothing else matters as long as they’re uttered during a campaign?

“Are people really so fixated on certain right wing catch phrases that nothing else matters as long as they’re uttered during a campaign?”

Pretty much. Andrew Coyne, a right-wing commentator in the National Post newspaper, despairs that people on the right will vote for any party with the word “Conservative” even if the party in question (eg. the Feds) has no particular ideology beyond the acquisition of power.

A lot of people seem to be surprised because he keeps getting elected. His voters don’t care, no matter what he does or the awful things he does. Right?

Now you understand a lot of what’s going on in Venezuela with Chávez and his legacy. Similar situation with a lot more of charisma, billions of dollars from oil and an almost total control of the media in the country.

1) He doesn’t “keep getting elected” mayor. It has happened once. A recent poll showed that two different people considering running for mayor next time would beat him. (He did keep getting elected councilor, but his bad behaviour wasn’t in the spotlight then)

2) During Chavez’ reign in Venezuela poverty dramatically decreased, infant mortality was way down, standard of living was up, life expectancy was up, incoming inequality was shrinking rapidly. Those things have a lot of complicated things going into them, and I’m not going to put all the credit on Chavez, but they still happened.

I agree there is a similarity between Chavez and Ford, but it’s not what you are claiming it is. Chavez kept winning because while he was in power things were getting better for most people. Ford won because the previous Mayor (who had opposite political views) oversaw a long and wasteful garbage strike.

When things are good people vote for the people in power, when they are bad they get annoyed and pick someone else.

Answer to one: My bad. But he seems to have a lot of irrational following.

2) So did poverty fall in Peru, Brazil. So did illiteracy fall in Colombia, all of that without the billons of dollars in oil money. Venezuela did not do that well compared to the rest of the region considering how much oil money got in the country. Even more, other govts are not touting those achievements in such a spectacular way. That’s the job of a decent govt, not to boast about it. In these 14 years, despite all the money from oil, we don’t even have 24/7 power anymore, hospitals and roads are in terrible condition, and after Chávez died we have a disgusting, Orwellian, personality cult.

Things are not good, people are gullible and fall for nice words, even if the acts don’t match them.